'The government's decision to keep interest rates unchanged on small savings schemes will certainly constrain banks' ability to cut deposit rates further.'
'Parsis are inclined towards people who work for the welfare of others.'
'Allah is there above and, with him as witness, I am giving you this money. If my Mariam's letter arrives, you must deliver it.' The clerk stood still in astonishment. 'Where must it be delivered?' 'Upon my grave!'
Nearly two million postcards and eight million letters pass through India's post offices daily.
Fort Kochi's charm lies in its oldness. Put on that cap, lace up your sneakers and those 10,000 steps are easy-peasy!
'Is this man crazy?' the postmaster asked. 'Yes, who? Ali, na? Yes, saheb. Five years have passed and, no matter the weather, he comes to collect a letter. It's very rare for him to receive a letter,' the clerk replied.
The burgeoning private courier companies appeared to be driving the last nail in the coffin of the slowly declining giant.
When in Landour, discovers Supriya Newar, one of the most important things to do and that too in large measures, is to do nothing at all.
Long-term tax-saving FDs can also be considered after the PPF limit has been exhausted.
According to the proposed legislation, 'the central government may, by notification, empower any officer to intercept, open or detain any item in the interest of the security of the state, friendly relations with foreign states, public order, emergency or public safety, or upon the occurrence of any contravention of any of the provisions of any law for the time being in force'.
'It does two things that even our erstwhile colonial masters did not deem fit for their subjects: The Bill does away with any checks or balances on the exercise of interception and surveillance powers, including any penalty whatsoever for unauthorised interception, opening, scrutiny, or destruction of postal materials.'
To tell us about your father, just mail us at getahead@rediff.co.in (subject: My father) along with your name, the place where you live, your father's name and picture and your message about him.
The department of post launched a new service on Wednesday that would enable customers to trace their mails through short messaging service.
Besides the bills, the government has listed the first batch of supplementary demands for grants for 2023-24 for presentation, discussion and voting during the session.
Both Houses of Parliament were adjourned sine die on Thursday, a day ahead of the scheduled end of the Winter session, that saw a security breach in the lower house, suspension of over 140 MPs and the expulsion of Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Wednesday ordered a high-level inquiry into the incident of two persons jumping into the house chamber from the public gallery with smoke canisters.
Claims to regain business lost to private courier operators.
However, Rajya Sabha being a continuing chamber is not subject to dissolution, and bills introduced and pending in this House remain on the live register, unless withdrawn by the government.
Ahead of the Parliament session, the government will hold a meeting with leaders of all parties on Sunday to brief them and hear their views, amid an intense buzz on whether it will have some surprise item up its sleeve during the five-day sitting.
"The agenda as published at the moment, is much ado about nothing - all this could have waited till Winter session in November. I am sure the legislative grenades are being kept up their sleeves to be unleashed at the last moment as usual. Parde ke peeche kuch aur hai!" he said.
The unusual timing of the session has left everyone wondering, even though the main standout feature on the listed agenda is a special discussion on Parliament's journey of 75 years starting from the "Samvidhan Sabha" (Constituent Assembly).
Group term insurance is far more cost-effective than an individual cover.
The session is likely to see the proceedings of Parliament move from the old building to the new Parliament building.
The Ukrposhta, the Ukrainian Postal Service, released a postal stamp to commemorate the resistance of the Ukrainian soldier to surrender and the war cry 'Russian warship, go f*** yourself' that resonated on the Snake Island's Ukrainian military outpost on the Black Sea during the first day of the Russian invasion.
'Comparing the rates of interest with PSU banks, the three- and five-year time deposit rates of the post office are more favourable.'
Be wary of co-operative banks which have historically been most vulnerable.
'The pride of the devoted Seinfeld fan is that he happens to love a show that doesn't take his love for granted, so that even on repeat viewings he is never really sure what directions an episode might take,' observes Sreehari Nair.
'One evening, my mother announced during dinner that we would open a Cumulative Time Deposit account in the post office. 'My father froze. 'The handful of curd rice that he had just put into his mouth remained there for a few extra seconds.' Colonel K Thammayya Udupa (retd) recalls an important decision that changed his family's life forever.
Mihir Tanna, Associate Director, S K Patodia & Associates, answers your tax queries.
Mihir Tanna, Associate Director, S K Patodia & Associates, answers your income tax queries.
Deployed at 15,632 feet, Captain Shiva Chauhan, 25, highlights the calibre of the Indian Army's women officers.
The officer said the man who had typed out the letter was arrested from Ballygunge on Monday.
Aadhaar is falling behind on technology, missing out on confidentiality and has gaps in its data archiving policy and preserving confidentiality in delivery of the cards to people, says a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG). The performance report, 'Functioning Of Unique Identification Authority Of India', tabled in Parliament on the last day of the budget session notes, assigning a unique identity to all resident Indians was supposed to be the key feature of Aadhaar. But "There were instances of issue of Aadhaar with the same biometric data to different residents indicating flaws in the de-duplication process and issue of Aadhaar on faulty biometrics and documents". It says close to half a million such records had to be cancelled by the Unique Identification Authority of India up to 2016.
'Stick to FDs of shorter tenures, preferably one-two years.'
Sarma said his government had prepared a dossier on PFI and would be taking action against the outfit in the state.
The bonds were available for seven years. Since these were not traded in the secondary market, redemption took place at maturity.
Overall, small savings have amassed Rs 1.17 trillion from April-September - 26 per cent more than the previous year. But in those six months, the economy lost 24 per cent in the first three months, and is slated to lose 10 per cent in the second quarter.
Those willing to take a higher risk for higher returns can look at AAA-rated non-convertible debentures from reputed issuers.
In three of the past four years, 10-year returns have been 10 per cent or lower, making equity unattractive, compared to other asset classes.
According to sources, the postal bank will tie up with other banks and financial companies to offer products like loans, mutual funds, and insurance policies to its customers.
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